Jacob Marleys Daughter Chapter 4: Stave 1: Red Numbers Red Letters, a tiny toon adventures fanfic

STAVE ONE - RED NUMBERS, RED LETTERS

Tex was right, of course. It was impossible for Montana Max not to see that enormous amounts of energy, which his factories needed, had been suddenly depleted in the previous days. A quick investigation led him to his daughter, and as punishment, her allowance was suspended and her savings were depleted until the electric bill had been paid off. Naturally, this forced Dakota to work longer hours after school and weekends. Even Christmas Break didn't provide any relief for her, because now that she had no school she had to work all day long in order to bring her balance out from the red.

All that made her more resentful than before. Normally she would be working day and night for her own pleasure and gain, not to pay off debts, much less to pay her father. She resented her father, her nemesis, and the green buck who, for some reason, didn't mind working with her throughout all this.

On one particular winter afternoon, it was precisely that green buck who burst into her office within her father's mansion. The office consisted of a large room tiled with mahogany, with a matching desk and bookcases, save for the red brick fireplace on the wall, currently burning, and a large window behind the desk. Most of the furnishings were gifts from her father, but the silk curtains and the red carpeting were her own idea. The humanmaid, in her charcoal business blouse and skirt, with black dress shoes, didn't seem to be affected by the relaxing effect of the lavish set up, for she was busy typing furiously in front of her ultra-thin monitor.

"Dee! I've got great news!" burst the green buck, bounding to her desk, and unable to stay still. "The debt is finally paid in full! You're finally out of the red!"

The Caucasian stopped typing for a moment, brushed back some of her almond-brown hair, glared at her jovial sidekick, and returned her attention to her on-line business.

"Dee? I got the quarterly report here! It's all paid for!" He pulled out a pawful of papers from his body pocket, but his boss didn't seem to notice. "Dee?" He tilted his ears toward her, placing the report beside the keyboard. Still she typed furiously. Taking a chance, he gently placed his gloved paw over her left hand, "Dee, it's over, it's okay, it's paid for. You can relax now."

She stiffened at his touch, but not because of any romantic causes. "Relax?" she asked dangerously, slowly turning to him.

Quickly, Tex removed his paw, and lowered his head and ears as fright took over him. "Y-yes, Dee. Your hard work paid off. You're finally making profits again. And since we won't go back to school until January, well, maybe you should take a break and—um—I don't know—uh—go skiing?"

Her father's favourite winter sport, practiced in Switzerland, or New Zealand if it was June. "Tex, have you any idea how much catching up we have to do now?"

"Catching up?" he winced in confusion, raising his ears.

"Oh yes. We spent the last two months paying off a debt—which SHOULD have been an investment—that I SHOULDN'T have had to pay in the first place. We've lost two months of profits because SOMEONE foiled my plans." She turned back to the monitor. "Luckily for me, we're in the Christmas season."

"So you're going on vacation?"

"Far from it! NOW is the perfect time to take advantage of all those idiots on a shopping frenzy! NOW is the time to hike up prices, lower production, and cut warranty time! If I time things just right, in two weeks I can make up for the lost profits of two months." She continued altering numbers and typing out orders, but suddenly, she stopped, sat back on her tall leather chair, and sighed with resignation. "But even if the debts had come from elsewhere, they would have been paid off sooner if The J were here to help me. And the profits of the holiday season would have gone to the moon if he'd only listened to me and stayed here!"

The lapine turned slightly away. There was that name again: The J. Though Tex considered him a good friend, he knew that Dakota's heart would never let him go, even if it was for material reasons now. And despite the fact that The J had a girlfriend, Tex's younger sister, Anni, Dakota would continue pining after the black panther, which meant he would continue pining after her, unless something drastic happened.

"Dee, you know J would have never cheated his customers, like you're doing now. But he still would have found a way to make a profit without cheating! It can be done, you know!"

"J is an IDIOT!" The brunette glared at him and huffed for a moment, then turned back to her work. "And so is the rest of his family. This holiday is the only good thing that his religion has come up with—except maybe Easter. I just love it when chocolate, sugar, and egg stocks go up, don't you?" The male remained silent at that comment, his heart starting to fill with pain once more. "Oh, and before I forget," she shoved him a written order, "take that to the printers. Make sure that 'Christmas' is spelled 'X-mas'. Can't be too careful when it comes to political correctness." A smile appeared on her face for the first time in two months. "It's amazing how one little letter can save us millions of dollars. I love political correctness, don't you?"

She continued typing, so she didn't notice the lagomorph pull out of his shirt a gold chain, which held a Cross and a Star of David. With his ears behind him, he murmured, "Sure, it's done wonders for this planet."

The object of his affections obviously ignored that comment, and continued ranting, "But still, J was a fool to let religion get the best of him! He simply doesn't know the wealth he's missing!"

Tex looked at her. He had to make her see the Light. "You don't know that. He could be sending it ahead."

Dakota raised an eyebrow at him. "Ahead? My dear Tex, you know toons can't die—heh, of old age, at least. So we CAN take it with us, because we don't go anywhere!" Suddenly a scowl replaced her smile. "J was a (CENSORED)! We could have made beautiful music—and profits—togeth—"

Her romantic ponderings were interrupted by an unexpected visitor who burst through the large double doors. "DEE!"

The teenager winced as an adult human with white skin, light brown hair, blue eyes, white jacket, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers, invaded her sanctum. Words had to crawl through her teeth. "Hello, Uncle Duncan."

Elmyra's younger brother ignored the grinding teeth and walked happily around her desk, standing next to the rabbit, leaning down and planting a kiss on the female's head. "How's my favourite niece?"

How she hated him. "What do you want, Uncle? If it's money, there's none. I'm deep in debt right now." Tex would have said something, but he knew that Mister Duff didn't care either way.

"Is that all you think about, Dee? Please. I just invited your mother to our annual Christmas party and she told me I could find you up here so I could invite you as well! And as long as we're all here, I guess I'll invite your boyfriend as well!" he gestured at Tex.

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" she screamed, gales of wind blowing through hair and fur.

But he still continued smiling. "He's not? My oh my, Dee, it looks like you're missing out on plenty. I mean, look at him! He looks like the pick of the warren, doesn't he?" Tex's cheek fur turned purple as he blushed. "Or are you waiting for a human boyfriend?"

Or half-human, at least, thought Tex. Perhaps one reason why Dakota sought J was that he was half-human and half-jaguar, genetically, at least, though The M showed more of a mix than her brother did, as she was an African-American human, but with jaguar-patterned hair and orange eyes. Perhaps Dakota, too, was seeking to have genetically enhanced offspring one day, and J was a perfect candidate for that. However, everyone knew that the outcome was unpredictable. After all, Nolan Carrotte, a friend of his, had an albino rat for a father and a black cat for a mother, and he came out very mixed, with a Siamese-type fur pattern and rodent incisors between carnivore fangs. Nolan's younger sister, Talleen, instead, came out as a perfectly normal black cat with green eyes. A.J. Fox, Nolan's cousin, had a red fox for a father and a brown rabbit for a mother, and he came out nearly 100 per cent copper-brown rabbit, save for a white belly and muzzle, brown points in his paws, foot-paws and ears, blue eyes, a slightly longer tail, slightly shorter ears, and fangs as well, though not as long as his father's.

The adult continued, "Oh, never mind that, you have plenty of time. But still, he can come too, even if he's not your boyfriend. We're going to have TONS of fun!"

The female teenager slowly put her hands on either side of the keyboard. "Uncle, you invite me to your Christmas party every year."

"That's because I've held one every year since I moved out of your grandparents' house."

"And what have I told you every year you've asked me?"

"Well, let's see," he pondered. "You get all nasty, you yell at me, and you decline my invitation."

She glared cryogenically at him. "And what makes you think that this year will be different?"

He glared back at her, but with determination and conviction, "Love, hope, faith, prayer, and perhaps the far-fetched idea that your boyfriend here will soften you into acce—"

"TEX——IS——NOT——MY——BOYFRIEND!"

Moments after the burst, Duncan swept his light-brown hair back into position, and straightened himself up. Then he set Tex back on his foot-paws, as he had fallen over. "It's your loss, then, Dee, even though you KNOW that no one there will ask you for money. And if someone does, they'll have to deal with me. Oh, and someone else is here to see you."

She sat back, "Who?"

On cue, Granny, attired in her ever-popular nineteenth-century dark blue dress, entered Dakota's office. The younger female mumbled, "Who lets these people inside the mansion?" Then, she asked the elder directly, "Professor Granny! Did you forget to give us ten tons of homework to do over the holidays?"

The elder waved that off as she shuffled to the desk, "Oh, heavens, no, Dee. I already gave you your homework. I came to speak to you about more important matters."

Eyebrow. "More important?"

"Yes. A lot of toons in the Looniversity have been getting concerned about Leo and Miranda's baby."

Those names appeared to draw a blank on the young female's memory. "Who?"

"Leo and Miranda Carrotte," explained Tex. "Nolan and A.J.'s aunt and uncle. Miranda is some three months pregnant right now."

"Oh, them," she said uninterestedly. "What about the baby?"

Granny continued, "Well, the doctor ran some tests on Miranda and the baby, and the results have got him worried. There might be problems later on with hybridisation, so she's been hospitalised." Here she stopped, expecting Dakota to show some interest, but the young entrepreneur simply looked at the elder as if wanting to know how all of that concerned her. So, the elder resumed, "I don't know if you've heard of this, but both of their families put together a fund, first, to prepare for the baby shower next year, and second, to help medical research for toons in her condition, and newborn toons in the baby's condition."

Dakota closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, as if trying to digest all this information and see where exactly she, her fortune, and any potential profit, managed to fit in. This was fruitless, of course. "So what exactly do you need me for?"

Granny pulled out a clipboard, "Well, I first talked to your father and asked him to give a research grant to Acme General, but unfortunately, you know how he feels about charities. So, I came here to talk to you. How much do you wish to give to Acme General?"

For some reason, the word "give" appeared to trigger something within Dakota, something primeval, almost genetically programmed. Slowly, she stood and walked around the desk. "Let me get this straight: you want me to give you money, for free."

"If it's not too much trouble."

"And you already asked my dad, and you saw his reactions."

"You can remain anonymous, if you feel it might help—"

Standing in front of her, Dakota asked, "Professor, if you saw my father's reactions, what makes you think I'll react differently?"

Granny's blue eyes looked tenderly down at the youngster. "Well, for starters, you're young, eager, and very good at business, almost as good as The J." Dakota's right eye twitched. "Also, you've seen all that your father has done before, and how his lack of interest has made things difficult for local charities. What's more, it's Christmas, Dee. It's the perfect time to giv—"

"I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER!" screamed the teenager, silencing the office. "My father hates charities, so I hate charities even MORE! Isn't it enough that he has to cheat on taxes and employees' salaries and welfare that you have to make me (gritting teeth) GIVE in order to compensate? And do you actually think that because it's Christmas that I'm going to think differently?"

Duncan interrupted, "Now, now, Dee, watch that attitude! Santa Claus might hear—"

"LET HIM HEAR!" she burst back. "As if I need that old fatso! I have all the wealth I want, and I will MAKE more!"

Her uncle sighed, "So, let me guess: you think Christmas is a 'humbug', Scrooge?"

"Scrooge" chuckled, "'Humbug'?" Then, she scowled, "Christmas is a (CENSORED)!" That word was enough to make Granny pale, clothes and all, and with a scream, she dashed out of the office, leaving her panicked silhouette carved neatly on the double doors. Dakota looked at that and commented, "Well, that was easy."

Her uncle had paled a trifle, but not enough to make him follow Granny just yet. Instead, he walked up to her and said, "We will save a spot for you at the table, just as we do every year. I hope to see you there, Dee. Good night." With that, Elmyra's brother calmly left his niece's office.

"The nerve of some people! As if I'd actually want to help furry toons! And a freak furry toon at that! Why don't they let evolution take its course and eliminate that freak before it's born, geez! I'll help DNA improvement MY way!" The whole ordeal had reminded her of her truncated plans of further combining jaguar and human DNA, for her benefit, of course. But, she reasoned, she was still young. Still, with a disgusted sigh, Dakota turned and was about to return to her desk, when she saw Tex standing nearby, facing away from her, the printer order on the floor, ears completely down, and grinding his teeth VERY loudly. "And what are you waiting for? Go home already!" The male didn't move, but instead kept up the loud grinding. The female didn't need annoying noise in her office, so she whirled him around and ordered, "Hey, didn't you hear me! I said GET OUT—!" When she turned him around, she saw that his eyes were red once again, and he was weeping openly. Shocked at this display of emotion, especially from a male, she stood back and asked, "What the hell is wrong with you now?"

Tex could only look at the red carpet now. He simply couldn't bring himself to look at the female he loved directly in the eye, not after what she had said about Christmas. "Dee," he sobbed, voice cracking, "tell me something: did you really love J?"

She wondered why he was asking this, but she quickly replied, "Hey, who didn't? He's handsome, has an awesome body, he's great in business—" Her brief romantic thoughts were suddenly replaced, "But that (CENSORED) betrayed me!"

"So, you hate him now?"

"YES! I hate him with every atom of my being! We could have done so much together, and he threw it all away!"

The buck continued, still looking at the floor, "Dee, you did not have any love for J."

She was surprised to hear someone challenge her feelings, but even more that it had been this cream puff of a rabbit. "What-did-you-say?" she asked dangerously.

"You heard me. You really didn't love J at all. If what you had for him had been true love, you would have wanted him to be happy with whatever choice he made. And you would have been happy for him now despite the fact that he's dating Anni. Instead, you tried to destroy him twice. You never really loved him, Dee. You just wanted him as an asset, not as a person. If he had been a computer business programme, you would probably be happier."

The humanmaid grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her face, "You (CENSORED)! You have NO IDEA what it's like to be betrayed!"

He still wouldn't look at her in the eye, "I know more than you could possibly fathom, Dee. That is why I must now give you an ultimatum."

"'Ultimatum'?" she asked, as if he had asked her for a gold ingot.

"Dee, you have no idea how much it hurt me when you said what you felt for J now, Passover, Christmas, or our beliefs in general."

Another mental speed bump. "Huh? 'Our' beliefs?"

Tex pulled out his gold Cross and Star of David, showing them to Dakota, and finally, he looked at her in the eye. She saw in his almond-brown eyes a spark she had never seen before. "I've been a Waiting One long before J left you." For a moment, she felt fear when she saw the symbols, remembering that The J had a chain exactly like that. Before she could retort, her employee continued, "You've tried to destroy him, his parents, his sister, and all that they've accomplished, and all that's done is bring hardship to you. But there is a way out of all this hate, greed, and evil." He paused, trying to pull himself out of her eyes. "Dee, I'm asking you—begging you, to leave J and Anni alone, and move on, and let me lead you into this life we have. You've already gone beyond the limits of any normal villain we've known: Dee, you're not a villain anymore; you've become a criminal. I'm offering you a way out, but you have to want it. I can't hold the lifeline for you forever, because I too, must choose between my own convictions of what is right and just—or joining you in the Dark Side, which I will NOT do." He gently put his paws over her hands, which still gripped his shirt. "Please, Dee, stop this! Stop all the evil and the greed, and come with me! You won't believe how much happier you can be without all the bitterness and hate! In fact, you could help Miranda's baby more than you think! You may not have the time machine anymore, but all the data and research you did to make it work and all you did to prepare yourself for the time trips—and to prepare another human-jaguar mix—could easily branch off into medical breakthroughs, if you put all the data in the correct paws! And you'd get the credit for it, not your dad, not Professor Coyote, or even Calamity!" She just looked at him. "Please, Dee, come with me!"

The brunette hesitated. She felt his paws on her hands, and after a moment, she shook him off, throwing him back. "You pathetic rabbit! Do you think religion can soften me?"

To her surprise, he replied, still crying, "No, Dee. No religion can soften any heart. What we have is much more. And you, as a human, can get much more than me, a rabbit. We know the original and true meaning of Christmas—"

"HA! Do you really think that (CENSORED) Christmas will change me? My father never needed your religion, so I don't either!"

The lapine sighed, and ground his teeth in pain. Suddenly, he dragged his foot-paw along the carpet, pushing down the strands momentarily, forming a line on the floor. "Dee, this is the last chance I can give you: I've drawn this line, and I can't cross it to go to you, because you are in the Dark Side. You've got to cross it to come with me, and you will have something much better than what you have now." The Caucasian looked at him, shocked at the challenge he gave her. "Please, Dee, come with me!"

She spat, "Go to Hell."

That was like an ICBM going through his chest, as his teeth ground louder than before. His eyes were practically waterfalls now. "Then I will do you one last favour, Dee, and then I will have to leave, and never come back here, or do business with you." He pulled out a Book, and handed it to her. "Read this, and it will explain everything we believe in, why we believe, why we behave differently from others, what Christmas and Passover are truly about, why J had to reject you—and—and—why now I'm forced to choose, like J had to choose before."

"Huh? What do you mean you're forced to choose?"

His response was to suddenly grab her shoulders and pull her in for a deep kiss, as he had always wanted to do since he first saw her. She, of course, was stunned and frozen, unable to return his embrace. An eternity later, the buck released the stunned humanmaid, and shuffled toward the door. Before he left, he turned and said, "You don't have to read it all at once. The important parts are in red."

And with that, Tex Bunny walked out of Dakota Dee's office forever.

She didn't know what to make of all this. Did he just quit? Did he just cut himself off from her and her businesses, without even asking for severance pay? Did he love her as much as she wanted The J? Confused, she held up the Book in her hand. It was somewhat thick, but according to Tex, she did not need to read from beginning to end in one sitting, as the important parts were already marked with red ink.

"Dim!"

The office's lights darkened at her command, and she sat on a black leather recliner near the fireplace, where she opened the Book and searched for the red segments. At this moment, a light rain began to fall outside the large window, momentarily drawing her attention there.

The Fourteen & Co. (originally by D.C. Talk)

"Red Letters"

SUPERNATURAL

(andante)

She also thought she heard sleigh bells, but dismissed that as a figment of her imagination.

Turning to the Book again, she read: "Happy are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy…"

Ethereally, a piano began to play.

An odd event took place now: for some reason, as she read, fourteen young rabbits faded into her office. Junior, Alexi, Miriam, Tex, Friz, Shotsy, Morty, Bekki, June, Hunni, Anni, Mel, Buck, and Chuck, were standing there, in their everyday attire, apparently spread about randomly. All had very serious expressions on their faces, yet none looked at any other, or even at Dakota. Then, other toons faded in as well: The J, in his white t-shirt; his older sister, The M, in a green sleeveless blouse and blue slacks, her jaguar hair flowing in a breeze that no one could feel; Nolan Carrotte, in his red shirt, yellow vest, and blue shorts; his little sister Talleen, in her pink shirt and shorts; A.J. Fox, wearing a white Credence Clearwater Revival shirt and blue jeans; and finally, a twenty-two-year-old female rat with light-brown fur, pink headband and tail bow, long brown headfur, white t-shirt, and rolled up blue jeans: Roberta Rat.

Dakota read on as the other toons faded in and out, as they sang:

Junior held open his own copy of the Book, "Pages—filled with a holy Message—"

Alexi blew a kiss upward, "—Sealed with a kiss from Heaven—"

Miriam opened an aged scroll, "—On a scroll long ago."

Tex, arms crossed, "Phrases, words that were bound together—"

Friz, ears sideways, broke a twig, "—Now have the power to sever—"

Shotsy held up a Roman sword, "—Like a sword evermore."

Morty looked up, "Heed the Words divinely spoken!"

As did Bekki, raising her fists, "May your restless heart be broken!"

June held a fist to her chest, "Let the Supernatural take hooold—"

Junior, "There is love—"

Behind him, Team Aleph, "—In the red letters."

Morty, "There is truth—"

Behind him, Team Beth, "—In the red letters."

Anni, "There is hope for the hopeless!"

Behind her, Team Gimmel, "Peace and forgiveness!"

The Fourteen, "There is life—" that word echoed through the room. "—in the red letters…in the red letters…"

Tex trailed off, "Ohhhh…"

Dakota read: "I have come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly."

Hunni continued, holding and looking at her Cross and Star, "One Man—came to reveal a mystery."

Anni, looking at a B.C.-A.D. timeline, "Changing the course of history—"

Mel, also looking at it, "—Made the claim He was God."

Buck, "Ageless, born of a virgin Mary,"

Chuck reared and proclaimed, "Spoke with a Voice that carried through the years—!"

Team Gimmel, "It's persevered!"

The J and The M directly to Dakota now, "Heed the words divinely spoken!"

A.J. and Roberta as well, "May your restless heart be broken!"

Also Nolan and Talleen, "Let the Supernatural take hooold—"

Everytoon, "Take hold…"

The humanmaid now saw all the toons around her.

Team Aleph, "There is love—"

Tex whispered, looking up, "I come before You."

Team Aleph, "—In the red letters."

Tex, "I come unto You."

Team Beth, "There is truth—"

Tex asked her, "Do you see it?"

Team Beth, "—In the red letters."

Tex, "I believe it."

Team Gimmel, "There is hope for the hopeless!"

Tex exclaimed, "Hoooope—for the hopeless!"

Team Gimmel, "Peace and forgiveness."

Tex, "Peace and forgiveness!"

The Fourteen, "There is life—"echo, "—in the red letters………in the red letters………"

Suddenly, the entire room darkened and everyone disappeared, leaving Dakota alone in complete darkness. She jumped up, and could only see herself—and a light in the distance?

(allegro)

The darkness was oppressing her, filling her with fear she had never felt before. She knew that she had to reach the Light in order to escape—but—it was so far away! She ran for her life, and she was approaching it, yes, but now it seemed to be above her.

The J faded in and out, his voice echoing, "What You say—moves me."

She had to reach the exit, away from all the echoing voices…

The M, "Revelation—"

Tex, "Oh, no…!"

The M, "—Come and take me."

Roberta, "The more I look—!"

Tex, "…The more I look…"

Nolan, "—The more I see—!"

Tex, "…The more I see…"

A.J., "The Word of God—!"

Tex, "…The Word of God…"

Everytoon, "—Is what I neeeeeed—!"

She was climbing on something—on words?

"And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."

The Words seemed to form a ladder toward the light—that was in the shape of a cross?

Talleen shouted, "Ooh, yeah! Ooh, oh yeah! It's the Book of Love!"

Roberta added, also shouting, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the Book of Love—of Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooove—————!"

When she saw that it was indeed a cross, she stopped.

(andante)

And suddenly, she was sitting on her chair again—everything was normal—and Tex was kneeling in front of her, ears down, holding her hand—

And weeping?

Tex looked at her eyes and sobbed, "There is love—in the red letters.

There is truth—in the red letters!"

The J, beside them, "Oooooo—!"

The males, "There is hope for the hopeless!"

The females, "Peace and forgiveness!"

Tex, still kneeling, "—and forgiveness, yeah!"

Everytoon, "There is life—"

Tex, "There is life—!"

Everytoon, "—In the red letters—"

Tex shook his head, "Ahhh—!"

Everytoon, "In the red letters———"

Tex stood, turned, and whispered, "I come before You, I come unto You."

The M, "Ahhh—"

Everytoon, "In the red letters———"

Tex asked her again, "Do you see it? I believe in:"

Everytoon, "In the red letters———"

Tex looked up and shouted, "Speak to me, reveal to me Your Life!"

Nolan whispered now, "I come before You, I come unto You."

Everytoon, "In the red letters———"

Tex, "Speak to me, reveal to me, ohh…"

The J whispered, "Do you see it? I believe it."

The Fourteen, "Na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na.

Na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na.

Na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na."

The Fourteen & Co. (originally by D.C. Talk)

"Red Letters"

SUPERNATURAL

All the toons faded away as they na-na-na'ed, leaving the young entrepreneur alone to catch her breath from her apparent run. Had all of this been a dream, or a cheesy music video sequence? She then looked at the Book again, and decided to continue reading. That previous passage had her intrigued; yet it seemed preposterous.

"And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."

Set free from what? Lies? Bah, one can only be set free if one is first captive, which she knew she wasn't—

"…Whoever does wrongdoing is a slave to wrongdoing, and the slave does not live in the house forever…"

For some reason, she almost felt her blood pooling to her feet, as her previous statement of toons living forever seemed to hit a snag according to this—

No.

This book was just a pathetic amalgam of pathetic ideals of right and wrong. Doing wrong never stopped her father, and he had always stayed in this house. She, too, would always stay in her house, after all, neither she nor her father were slaves to wrongdoing, or anything or anyone else, for that matter. It was she who dictated what to do and how to do it, it was she who dictated wrongdoing, and not the other way around. In fact, she was even better at it than her father was, seeing that she was much more intelligent than he was. She followed in her father's footsteps, and had gone beyond what he—

"You do the works of your father."

Uh, exactly. He taught her well, and she had even surpassed him. True, she had failed to destroy The J, but sooner or later, she would wipe him off the face of—

"You are of your father, the Devil, and you will do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer right from the start…"

She gasped at that statement. Though she always knew, in the back of her head, that everything she did was tantamount to attempted murder; this Book seemed to throw that fact right in her face, as if It was speaking directly to her—

Enough. She flipped to another section—

"Does this offend you?"

(CENSORED) right it did! Her father was Montana Max, not a confabulated personification of evil! And this Book had yet to explain why The J or Tex did what they did—

"He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life…"

She suddenly remembered the oppressing darkness from which she wanted to escape. Could that be what Tex was referring to? Is that what he was trying to persuade her to do? Leave the Dark Side?

"He who hears my Word, and believes in Him that sent Me, will have eternal life, and will not enter into condemnation, but has passed from death to life."

Not that it did The J any good, because she had seen him disappear from existence—

—and return, for some reason. But this couldn't be right. How can anyone escape death, especially premeditated termination?

"If I want him to remain alive until I return, what's it to you? Follow Me."

There it was again.

"Follow Me."

Follow, follow, follow. Why couldn't she be the one leading? She was a leader, an entrepreneur, others should be following her.

"Follow Me."

That phrase seemed to be all over this Book. And she could do that, follow, and join Tex, his brothers and sisters, following the rules written here, along with The J—

(THUD!)

She flung the Book into the fireplace, where the flames began consuming it.

Like (CENSORED) would she walk beside J, Tex, or a bunch of rabbits, no matter what, or Who, they themselves were following. She needed no one to follow. She would lead, and others would follow her, now, and forever.

She stood and left her office, leaving the Book to burn to ashes.